1. By Rianne Wright

2. PART A – TODOROV’S THEORY
This is a sheet we
completed in class
where we looked at
the disruptions/
conflicts and
resolutions in
different genres.

3. PART B – TODOROV’S THEORY:
The Hunger Games
Todorov suggested there are 5 stages of
narrative:
1.Equilibrium
2.Disequlibrium
3.recognition of Disequilibrium
4.Attempt to repair disequilibrium
5.New Equilibrium
The next slides will show how Todorov’s
theory applies to the film ‘The Hunger
Games’

4. PART B: EQUILIBRIUM
• Equilibrium is shown in the beginning of the hunger games in the
scene where Katniss and Gale are out hunting and relaxing in the
forest.

5. PART B: DISEQUILIBRIUM
• Disequilibrium is shown in the scene where the reaping in taking
place.
• This is because in this scene Katniss’s sister is chosen to go into the
Hunger Games but Katniss volunteers to take her sisters place.
Peeta is also picked to enter the Hunger Games.

6. RECOGNITION OF DISEQUILIBRIUM
• Recognition of disequilibrium can be found in the scene where the
people taking part in the hunger games are taken into the training
room,
• It can also be found when Haymitch begins to mentor Katniss and
Peeta.
• This is because in these scenes both Peeta and Katniss have
accepted that they are going into the Hunger games.

7. ATTEMPT TO REPAIR DISEQUILIBRIUM
• The attempt to repair the disequilibrium can be found in the scenes
where Katniss is fighting for her life in the hunger games.
• It can also be found when Katniss and Peeta meet up again and
realise that they can win and go home together.

8. NEW EQUILIBRIUM
• The new equilibrium can be found when Katniss and Peeta survive
and win the hunger games.
• This is because they have returned to their old lives, however they
are not the same as before.

9. Levi –Strauss believed
the world is described as
binary opposites and this
is the same in movies as
we always have a villain
and a hero.
The following slides will
show how this can be a
applied to a variety of
genres.
Night and Day…
Example of a
binary opposite.

10. *
Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation
Batman They are opposites
because:
• Batman is good he
is the hero
• The Joker is evil
he is the villain
• Batman is trying to
save Gotham
• The Joker is
destroying it
The Joker is the
evil villain from
the batman movie
Batman is the
hero, his identity
is a secret.

11. *
Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation
The
Crazies
They are opposites
because:
• The man is evil and
he is trying to kill
innocent people
• The woman is
innocent and she is
trying to survive.
This character is a
zombies. He is evil as
he goes around killing
innocent people who
have not yet been
infected by the virus.
This woman is
the victim trying
to hide away
from the evil
zombie.

12. *
Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation
Mission
impossible
They are opposites
because:
• Ethan is working to
stop the evil forces
• The other man is a
terrorist
• Ethan is trying to
protect the people
• The other man has
the power to kill
thousands if he
doesn’t get what
he wants.
The man (Ethan) is an
American agent
working against
terrorist and evil
forces to protect his
country
This man is a terrorist,
who want power and
money in exchange for the
safety of the people

13. Barthes theory is similar to Todorov’s. Barthe says that the audiences
experiences of narrative involves anticipation and experience.
Barthes identified this by codes:
•Enigma code
•Action code
•Semantic code
•Symbolic code
•Cultural code.

14.  Barthes enigma code states that narratives set up puzzles to be
solved by the audience. These puzzles intrigue and draw in the
audience.
For example this scene from the film
Saw raises questions from the audience
like..
Who is the person on the floor?
What happened to them?
Who are all the people in the room?

15.  These are codes of behaviours or actions that lead the audience
to expect certain consequences.
Thriller/ Mystery Romance
Action: villain holding a knife
standing behind teenage girl.
Action: couple have broken up
but still miss each other
Assumption: The girl is going to
die
Assumption: the couple will get
back together.

16.  These are the connotative meanings of
characters, locations, objects etc.

17.  These are symbolic features which
signify oppositions. This example is
from the film Harry Potter and the
deathly hallows part 2.The dark costume and evil facial expression
connotes that this group of people are the
villains in this film.
These features signify opposition with
the characters on the next page as it
shows that they are one the ‘bad’
side.

18.  These are symbolic features which
signify oppositions. This example is
from the film Harry Potter and the
deathly hallows part 2.
In this scene from the film the statues are
brought to life to defend Hogwarts. The fact
that they are defending the school shows that
the are on the ‘good’ side.
In this scene a force field is created to
protect Hogwarts from the ‘dark side’.
As we can see the shield protecting the
school is a white colour which signifies
peace, good and purity.
This image shows the symbolic features of
the heroes as all the characters are
illuminated in a bright white light.

19.  Another Example from The Lord of the Rings.
Gandalf represents
good, which the
audience can tell
because of the
colour of his clothes
(white) and his
relaxed and calm
demeanour
From this picture the
audience can tell that
this character is the
‘villain’ because of his
dark clothes, angry
facial expression and
evil disfigured face.

20.  Outside knowledge we share to bring understanding of the
meaning in a text. This often happens through references to
popular culture and historical events.

The cultural code can be applied
to the film the Kings Speech
because it is based on historical
events.
The King's Speech is a British
historical drama film about King
George VI ( played by Colin firth)
who, to cope with a stammer,
sees Lionel Logue.

21. Propp’s theory
Propp developed a theory about the seven types of characters in
traditional classic fairy tales. He called this the ‘ seven spheres of action’
which are :
1. Hero
2. Villain
3. Dispatcher
4. Donor
5. helper
6. Heroine
7. False hero
The next slides will identify these characters in the film The hunger
games.

22. Propp – Hero
The hero is usually:
●On a quest/ search
●Traditionally male however today more female heroes are
being seen like Katniss from The Hunger Games

23. Propp – villian
The villain :
●Opposes the hero
●Causes destruction
●And often poses a threat to the safety of the heroine.
●The ultimate villain from the hunger games would be
the president of Capitol as he is the person that created
the hunger games.
●However there is another villain in the movie and this
would be Cato as he poses a threat to the safety of
both Katniss and Peeta.

24. Propp - dispatcher
The dispatcher usually :
●Starts the hero on their way.
●Is the father of the heroine.
●In the case of The Hunger Games Cinna is the
dispatcher as he helps Katniss and prepares her
for the hunger games.

25. Propp - donor
The Donor usually:
• Helps the hero by giving them a tool/gift
(which could also be advice) to help them on
their journey
• The donor in the Hunger games is Haymitch
as he helps to prepare Katniss for the
hunger games by giving her advice on what
to do.

26. Propp - helper
• As the name suggests the helper assists
the hero in restoring normality/ equilibrium
• Rue is the helper in the Hunger Games as
she helps Katniss when she is hurt and
takes care of her.

27. Propp - heroine
• The Heroine is usually female – but not always
– and is a more passive and vulnerable
character. The heroine often falls in love with
hero
• In the Hunger Games Peeta is the heroine as
he falls in love with Katniss and needed
rescuing from the Katniss.

28. Propp – false hero
 The false hero is initially on the side of the hero but then turns against or
deceives him/her
 Tempts hero away from quest.
 There is no false hero in The Hunger Games, so an example of a false hero
from another movie would be Victor from the Underworld movie.
Victor is the false hero because:
•He lied to Selene (the hero) by telling her
that the lycans had killed her family when it
had been him.
•He tried to kill Selene and the man the she
loved.

29. 
Task e – key terms

30. 
 The diegesis is the internal world created by the story that the
characters themselves experience and encounter.
 An example of this is the film Avatar as the characters are in their own
world
Diegesis

31. 
 Unrestricted narration:
 An unrestricted narration is one which has no limit to the information
that is presented ( there is nothing hidden from the audience).
 An example of this is the documentary March of the Penguins.
Narrative range –

32. 
 Restricted narration:
 Restricted narration only offers a restricted amount of information
and this may be to create enigmas. Restricted narration is usually used
in thrillers. An example of restricted narration in films is the film Texas
Chainsaw Massacre as the villain is wearing a mask which means he is
hiding his identity and the audience is unable to see who he is.
Narrative range -

33. 
Allan Cameron identified four types of modular narratives which are:
• Forking path
• Episodic
• Anachronic
• Split screen
As I am doing the green level I will explain the forking path, episodic
and anachronic narrative.l
Modular narratives: Allan
cAMERON

34.  Forking paths juxtapose alternate version of a story, showing the
possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single
even of group of events.
 An example of this is in the movie Sliding Doors, where the story
alternates between the character catching the train and finding her
boyfriend in bed with another woman, and the character missing the
train and not finding out about her boyfriend.
 To understand this narrative better, the trailer for this
film
 explains how this forking path narrative is used.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsQuNu4NB
mQ&safe=active
Forking paths

35.  This narrative involves flash-backs and flash-forwards, these
narratives also often repeat scenes directly or via a different
perspective.
 An example of an anachronic film is the film 4-3-2-1 as in this film the
same day is shown four times but in the perspectives of four different
people.
Anachronic

36.  Episodic narratives can be organised as an abstract series or an anthology.
• Abstract series – which is structured so that all the series go in order.
• Anthology narrative – consists of a series of shorter tales which appear to be
disconnected but share a random similarity.
 Episodic structure can also be described as narratives that have many heroes
with many goals. An example of this is the film Crash which is an anthology
narrative.
Episodic
The film crash is episodic because:
 It features many characters that aim for their own
goals
 The characters – and their goals- are intertwined
with each other ( for example the shop owner and
the locksmith )
 Each character has their own story which doesn't
appear to be connected but is.